Thingomatic - How To Print

Level Your Build Platform

In order for your prints to be successful, you need a build surface that is level relative to extruder nozzle. The vast majority of the time, this will just happen as a result of building your machine. Occasionally, you will need to adjust it to make it nice. The flatness of your build surface really only needs to be about +/- 0.5mm due to the 'raft' that will be printed as the first layer. This raft will make up for many irregularities in your build surface.

The basic process is pretty simple:

  1. Manually lower your extruder so that it is roughly 1mm above the middle of the platform.
  2. Move the build platform so that each corner is under the extruder nozzle in sequence. Note the relative gap height between each corner and the middle.
  3. Adjust the height of each corner to compensate for the non-levelness.

Acrylic Build Platform or Heated Build platform

Leveling the acrylic build platform is very simple. You can loosen the top nuts and adjust the middle nut to move each corner up or down. When you're done, lock the bottom and middle nuts against each other to keep it in place. Do this for all 4 corners and you're done.

Automated Build Platform

The automated build platform does not have a leveling procedure. It your ABP is not quite level, use some 'shims' such as pieces of paper or washers to adjust the height of the ABP platform.

In this picture a plastic washer is used to raise one corner the platform.

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Automatically set your Z-height

Check out this video of the process!

The process for setting your Thing-O-Matic's Z-height has been streamlined with the release of ReplicatorG 25. You no longer need to use a text editor to make changes to the Gcode profiles.

  • Open the Thing-O-Matic calibration script: File > Scripts > calibration > Thing-O-Matic calibration.
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  • Build the file by clicking GCode > Build.
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  • Turn the threaded rod until the nozzle just touches the surface without pressing into it. Move the build platform around such that the nozzle can reach each of the four corners without catching the belt. If the nozzle catches the belt, relevel your platform or slightly raise your nozzle by turning the threaded rod. Once you are satisfied the nozzle will not catch on the belt, click Okay.
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Your machine will now save your Z-height to the motherboard's onboard memory, and you can use the profiles included with ReplicatorG 25 or the new Print-O-Matic method.

You can now go ahead to the section titled "Get a 3d Model."

Measure Your Z-Height (ReplicatorG 24 and earlier)

Note: This section is now outdated, use the version above for ReplicatorG 25 and later. This section is preserved for reference only.

The Thing-O-Matic is fully automatic. What that means is that it automatically calibrates its position and start printing the first layer without any sort of intervention by you, the user. Because the exact distance between the Z+ endstop and your build surface can vary from bot to bot, its important to precisely measure it and adjust it if necessary. You encode this information into your build files using the settings you have made for your specific bot.
This process is pretty straightforward:

  • Open ReplicatorG 23 or later. Connect to your Thing-O-Matic.
  • Open the Thing-O-Matic calibration script: File > Scripts > calibration > Thing-O-Matic calibration.
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  • Build the file by clicking GCode > Build.
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  • Turn the threaded rod until the nozzle just touches the surface without pressing into it. Move the build platform around such that the nozzle can reach each of the four corners without catching the belt. If the nozzle catches the belt, relevel your platform or slightly raise your nozzle by turning the threaded rod. Once you are satisfied the nozzle will not catch on the belt, click Okay.
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  • When the Z platform stops moving click Okay.
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  • Open the control panel and find "Z Position". This is the "Z axis maximum". This should have a value of approximately 107, each maching being slightly different. Record this value for the next step.
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Select GCode Generator

We highly recommend using Skeinforge 35.

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Adjust Your GCode Profile

NOTE: With ReplicatorG 0025 it is not necessary to edit the start.gcode file. The axis values will be save to the motherboard and automatically loaded by the existing default start.gcode. If you're using ReplicatorG 25, skip ahead to "Get a 3d model."

With the measured Z distance in hand, you can tell your bot *exactly* how far to go down before starting the build. Warning: if this number is too big, your extruder will RAM itself into the build surface. You do not want that to happen. It is much better to take your number and subtract 1mm from it and do a series of builds where you move closer to the build surface every time than it is to try and get it perfect on the first try and potentially break something.

This is a thing you will only need to do once, so take your time and do it right. Every other build after you get it right will be fully automatic.

This change needs to be made within the directory of files associated with the profile of the Skeinforge edition you will be using to generate your gcode. There is a pair of files in each profile called "start.gcode" and "end.gcode" that establish the behavior during machine warmup (pre-object) and cooldown (post-object) stages respectively. These files will be very powerful for you when you become an advanced MakerBot operator: you can hack your bot to do cool stuff.

For this calibration step, you only need to adjust a number in the "start.gcode" file associated with the profile that tells your machine how to start each build. Check under 'GCode > Choose GCode generator …' for which edition of Skeinforge you have assigned.

The file you need to edit is located here:

  • Generic file location: replicatorg-00XX/skein_engines/skeinforge-35/skeinforge_application/prefs/<Profile version>/alterations/start.gcode

You'll need to put in real values for replicatorg-00XX and <Profile version>.

So, for example: if you're using ReplicatorG 0024, and the profile for Thingomatic, Stepstruder, Heated Build Platform, and 3mm filament, the file will be at:

  • ReplicatorG 0024 with SF35-Thingomatic-HBP-Stepstruder: replicatorg-0024/skein_engines/skeinforge-35/skeinforge_application/prefs/SF35-Thingomatic-HBP-Stepstruder/alterations/start.gcode

If you're using the profile for the Stepstruder with Automated Build Platform and 1.75mm filament, it will be:

  • ReplicatorG 0024 with SF35-Thingomatic-ABP-Stepstruder-1.75mm: replicatorg-0024/skein_engines/skeinforge-35/skeinforge_application/prefs/SF35-Thingomatic-ABP-Stepstruder-1.75mm/alterations/start.gcode

If you're doing advanced, custom stuff like using skeinforge 39, then you'll need to alter the file in the skeinforge-39 folder, but if that's the case, you're probably on top of this already.

Now, open that file with a plain text editor. On Windows, Notepad++ is a nice one. On Mac or Linux, you can use Bluefish or TextWrangler. In that file, you will see a line that looks like this:

G92 Z80 ( ---=== Set Z axis maximum ===--- )

Change this line so that the Z80 number is your measured Z height number. For example, if the number you recorded was 107.2, you will want to modify the line to look like this:

G92 Z107.2 ( ---=== Set Z axis maximum ===--- )

Every time you make a change to this file, you will need to re-slice your model for the changes to take effect.

Be careful, measure it twice and test it carefully.

That way you won't end up with bad prints or a damaged belt like this.

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Get a 3D Model

You can either download, design, or 3D scan something to get a 3D model. Downloading is the easiest, and we have created Thingiverse.com as a place for people to share their designs.

We highly recommend starting off with a known good 3D model for your first print. The 20mm calibration cube is a great place to start. Download it to your computer, then open it with ReplicatorG.

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Slice Your 3D Model

Slicing your model is also known as 'generating the toolpath'. What we are doing here is transforming the 3D model into the exact instructions required to build it. These instructions are in the form of GCODE which is an ancient control language for CNC machines. It is very basic, and tells the robot to go from point to point, when to turn the extruder on or off, and many other things. ReplicatorG then takes these instructions and then tells them to your Thingomatic which follows them and builds you your object.

To slice your object, open it with ReplicatorG, and press the 'Generate GCode' button. Select the 'thingomatic-mk5-automated-abs' profile, click the 'Use Raft' checkbox, and then click 'Ok'.

ReplicatorG will now think for a while. Depending on how complex an object is, and how fast your computer is, this may take a while. This model is fairly simple, so you can expect it to take anywhere from 1 minute on a fast computer to 5 minutes on a slow computer. Patience is the key here.

Once it completes the toolpath, you're ready to print.

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Print Your 3D Model

With the Thing-O-Matic, the printing process is totally automated. Click the Build button, or select 'GCode -> Build' from the main menu. Your MakerBot will go through a warmup routine and then begin building your object. The basic process is this:

  • Start warming up the heater
  • Home the X, Y, and Z axes
  • Move to waiting position to finish warming up (may take up to 10 minutes)
  • Extrude for a couple seconds to 'prime the pump'
  • Wipe any 'boogers' that will inevitably have formed
  • Start printing your object.

For the first few prints, it's very important to keep an eye on your printer. It may do something weird, or it may have been miscalibrated. Keep one hand on the power switch, and if you sense any sort of danger, flip the switch.

A nice, good looking raft

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A raft that is too smooshed

If your raft looks like this, or your nozzle hits the build surface, then your Z height is too large. Decrease the Z-height by an appropriate amount (0.2mm is usually good)

Don't forget to re-slice your object after making this change, otherwise nothing will change. If you do not re-slice, the GCODE that actually makes the printer run will not change, regardless of the start.txt edit.

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A raft that is too high

If your raft looks like this or if it is too far off the build surface and is not sticking, your Z height is too small. Increase the Z height by an appropriate amount (0.2mm is good here as well.)

Don't forget to re-slice your object after making this change, otherwise nothing will change. If you do not re-slice, the GCODE that actually makes the printer run will not change, regardless of the start.txt edit.

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After the Print

If you are using the Automated Build Platform, it will wait for 90 seconds to let the part cool down, and then it will run the conveyor belt to eject the part. Do not remove the part from the conveyor belt by hand. It will do it for you.

When it is done, it will wipe its nozzle and return to 0,0,0 and be ready for another print.

If you are using the Acrylic Build Platform, you will need some sort of scraper to scrape the object off the surface with. As many CupCake CNC owners can tell you, a sharpened paint scraper works really well! You do not need to wait for the object to cool down, and once its done building your object, your machine will shut down.

If you are using the Heated Build Platform, wait at least 90 seconds for your object to cool down and it should very simple to pull off the build surface.

Next Step: Maintenance and Upkeep

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